We asked every PROFIT 500 CEO to share their experiences, tips and ideas on everything from financing to exporting to hiring to staying sane amid the madness of building an empire. Here are 11 of our favourite answers. Consider it a clinic in successful entrepreneurship.

1. Purpose

“Why are you
doing this? What is your real motivator? It is about more than just money, and any new entrepreneur needs to recognize that early on. Knowing your ‘why’ will get you through the tough days—and there will be many tough days.”

“Why are you
doing this? What is your real motivator? It is about more than just money, and any new entrepreneur needs to recognize that early on. Knowing your ‘why’ will get you through the tough days—and there will be many tough days.”

“There are challenges associated with boldly going where no one has gone before. Always have a dreamer involved in R&D. Some of our best ideas have come from imaginative technical answers to complicated customer requests; they have not been purely technical solutions.”

“Strive to maintain a realistic work-life blend that makes sense for you. It’s not always necessary to strive for perfection; ‘good’ is good enough. Try not to feel guilty about how you choose to spend your time.”

“If you expect your team to work hard and produce quality content, you’re going to need to lead by example and work just as hard, if not harder. There is no greater motivator than seeing the boss down in the trenches, working alongside everyone else and showing that hard work is being done at every level.”

“We use the Net Promoter Score system, whereby our clients are asked on a monthly basis how likely they are to recommend us to a friend. From this, we can identify promoters and detractors, and can subsequently follow up accordingly with
client outreach
or to secure testimonials.”

“Our salespeople spend most of their time doing community-related activities. The exposure produced by attending events and being involved on boards has created a huge contact list for us and makes the sales process much warmer.”

“We generally partner our way into foreign markets. As a small business, you won’t have the credibility of a multinational brand, so you need to work with organizations that have the respect of the client and leverage that trust.”

“We are known for our ‘slow to hire’ philosophy. We use the Predictive Index, a scientifically validated behavioural assessment that accurately predicts workplace behaviour. The results give us further insights into the prospective employees’ behaviours in the workplace, help us make great hiring decisions and place prospects in the right position and team.”

“Two years ago, we discovered that accounting errors by people we’d deemed qualified were leading us quickly into bankruptcy. We rallied and worked our tails off to change course. It taught me that it is the job of a leader to always know what is going on in every area of the business. There is a big difference between delegation and abdication of responsibilities.”

“The best lesson I’ve learned as an entrepreneur is not to over analyze things too much. Risk taking is OK. In fact, for me, over thinking and not taking risks has only resulted in lost revenue and missed opportunities.”

“We offer workshops and webinars on various topics, and it really helps build our brand reputation. In fact, we’ve done enough of these over the past two years that we are formalizing this as an offering, creating (paid) workshops and training both for the public and as a customized offer for clients.”